Sunday, May 31, 2015

My favorite fish is easy to spot. It swims in the biggest tank and I am jealous of the divers swimming elegantly through the water with them. So much so, in fact, that I've decided this is something I must do. I must swim in the big tank in the Georgia Aquarium.

I love the ocean. I wasn't scared by JAWS. I was intrigued. I wanted to know more and more. I would get into a shark cage (but probably not get out of it). But I can't dive. It's apparently pretty intensive to learn to dive, and for something I might not ever do again I'm not sure it's practical. But I can also go there and snorkel, and the whale sharks swim at the top anyway. I'm IN.

I'd like to shimmy down to the bottom though. I'd like the freedom of all that water to swim and swim. I wonder how quiet it is. I bet that other than the sound of your tank, that's about the most peaceful place on the planet. Especially since it's very likely nothing in there will eat you.

My kids love doing all the interactive stuff, touching the squishy starfish (Julia named hers Patrick). But I wait anxiously for the big tank every visit we make. I just sit and watch them glide by effortlessly, at perfect peace in their giant watery world.

The big tank is everything. I want to burst through the doors and flop into the water. Of course that's super dangerous and might hurt the fish because they are fragile. So I'll wait, we asked this time how you get to swim with them and it's not too bad, so I hope I get to do it within the next year.

The perfect end to a long day looking the amazing creatures at the aquarium is some classic Georgia style comfort food.

I may have regressed on my diet a bit today, but no regrets. This was a great day with all of my favorite people, in one of my favorite places.